| 12th World Bridge Championships | Page 5 | Bulletin 5 - Wednesday 14 June 2006 |
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A Lively Start By Brian Senior The Rosenblum started with a lively set of deals, with a large number of IMPs changing hands in many matches. Naturally, with my gift for such things, I selected one of the low-scoring matches, that between Oz-One Kanektar of Australia and the Anglo-American Forrester squad. There was still plenty of action, however.
Both East/West pairs bid quickly and in an unrevealing manner to 3NT. At the average club, declarer would wrap up ten tricks after a low heart lead. However, both Tony Forrester and David Wiltshire started with a top heart and soon had five heart tricks stacked in front of them. Neither then cashed the ace of clubs, preferring to exit passively on the assumption that declarer had the ♣K. David Gold had kept eight winners while Avi Kanektar had kept only seven, so that was one down and two down respectively and 2 IMPs to FORRESTER.
There were huge swings on this one in other matches but it was flat in our featured match at +850 for East/West. A spade sacrifice is very cheap but, even allowing for the vulnerability, it is not clear to North/South which side is doing the saving.
Another potential swing board proved to be flat. Forrester opened with a weak 2♠ and Nigel Rosendorff used leaping Michaels, showing clubs and hearts. Mike Moss competed with 4♠ and, when Kanektar could bid freely to 5♥, Rosendorff went on to the small slam. Perhaps he could have bid 5♠ along the way, but it is not clear that Kanektar would have co-operated. When Moss bid a sixth spade, Kanektar doubled, ending the auction. Wiltshire opened 3♠, adding a level because of the six-four shape, and Tom Townsend made a take-out double. Kieran Dyke hoped to be able to let his opponents play 4♥ so passed quietly but, when they bid the slam, took the obvious save. Nothing silly happened at either table so both contracts went four down for –800.
Townsend’s decision to open a hand that Rosendorff passed led to two quite different auctions but the same final contract. Rosendorff cashed a top spade and caught a low card from partner, suggesting interest in clubs. He duly switched to the ♣9, which Forrester ducked. Kanektar overtook to switch to a trump to the bare king and Forrester crossed to the king of hearts and drew trumps then tried to ruff out the hearts. When hearts proved to be four-one, there was little hope left, and the contract drifted one off for –50. Townsend also led a top spade and saw a small card from partner. He, however, switched to a trump. Wiltshire won, crossed to the king of hearts and cashed four rounds of trumps. Then he played a heart and Townsend played low, as he had to do, but declarer finessed and could now set up the hearts to come to an overtrick; very nicely done for +420 and 10 IMPs to OZ-ONE. The East/West bidding suggested that there was some distribution around, plus the opening bidder needed some high cards somewhere and East had suggested the king of clubs at trick one, but it was still a brave play to find.
i) Spades ii) Hearts iii) Three spades Dyke opened the North hand – the partnership open all weak no trumps with 1♣ – and Townsend got both his suits into the auction without putting any momentum into the auction so that there was no reason for Gold to consider going to the five level. Indeed, he gave more consideration to doubling the final contract. As it was, 4♠ down three was quite satisfactory for the English pair when declarer won the opening heart lead in the wrong hand and his next play was not a trump, thereby conceding the maximum number of tricks possible (No, I don’t want somebody to write in and say that, double dummy, declarer can hold himself to just four tricks). Moss did not open the North hand, creating a very different scenario as Rosendorff showed hearts and a minor over Forrester’s 1♠ opening. Moss competed to 3♠ and Kanektar was happy to bid a pass or correct 4♣ over that. Forrester didn’t really expect to make 4♠ with those heart and club holdings, but the six-card suit suggested bidding and who knows what might happen if you keep the ball rolling? Sure enough, Kanektar doubled and Rosendorff, who had two extra cards in his suits and very few high cards, took it out into 5♣, doubled by Moss. After all, give East queen-third of clubs and less in spades, and 5♣ could have been cold. Forrester led the ace of diamonds and was not thrilled by the sight of dummy. Kanektar ruffed and played a heart, Moss going in with the ace and switching to a spade. Declarer won the ♠A and pitched a heart on the ♠K, then ruffed a spade, ruffed a heart, played a club to the king and ace, ruffed a heart, ruffed a diamond, and had to decide whether to play for clubs two-two, when he could make the contract by leading a trump, or three-one, when that play would leave him three down. Everything pointed to the actual club situation, so Kanetkar played winning hearts now and just lost the two trumps for down one; -200 and 8 IMPs to FORRESTER.
(i) Non-forcing game-try Given a free run, Townsend/Gold bid to the good heart game. Dyke led ace and another spade, forcing dummy. Townsend tried a diamond to the king and Dyke won the ace and played a third spade. The forcing game ensured the defeat of the contract; down one for –100. In the other room, Moss did a very good thing for his side when he came in with a four-card 1♠ overcall. Forrester had the perfect hand for him and leapt to 4♠, doubled by Rosendorff. Kanektar cashed a top heart then switched to a club. Rosendorff won and switched to the king of diamonds, looking for a quick kill. But Moss could win, draw trumps and ruff two clubs in hand; +790 and 12 IMPs to FORRESTER.
Kanektar cashed the top hearts then switched to the jack of clubs. Moss won in hand and played a spade to the king then ran the ♠9 to the queen. Kanektar played a second club. Moss won the king and ruffed a club then cashed the trumps. When he crossed to the queen of hearts, Rosendorff was squeezed in the minors and that was ten tricks for +620. The same contract was also brought home on the squeeze at the other table to flatten the board. FORRESTER ran out winners by 22-15 IMPs, 16-14 VPS, a remarkably low IMP-turnover on such a lively set of deals. |
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